Gideon, Who Fell at the Height of Glory

This passage deals with the story of Gideon, who won a great victory in the war against Midian. He wisely defuses the complaints of the tribe of Ephraim, subdues the people of Succoth who had mocked him, and establishes his authority as a judge. But at the very moment the glory of victory lifts him to the highest place, Gideon, rather than giving thanks to God, first takes the crescent ornaments that symbolized foreign gods.

He gathers the people's spoils to make an ephod and places it in his own town, seeking to show off his greatness and take revenge on his former enemies. In times of hardship God had guided him with his word, but once Gideon became proud, God no longer rebuked him with the word and fell silent. This silence is not a blessing but the beginning of a judgment that cuts off the relationship, and in the end it brings about the tragedy of the ruin of Gideon's house.

We must be on guard against forgetting God in the place of success and glory and sinking into our own satisfaction and boasting. We must understand what it means when God is silent toward us, and live giving thanks for the grace we have received and obeying the Word. What should we choose so that we do not fall at the height of glory as Gideon did?